Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Tokyo's Nature Spot

The East Garden of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo is now full of different flowers and fresh green.


 The spacious garden not only displays the old architectures from the castle days but is also like a botanical garden with hundreds of different species of plant.  People come here for a short nature walk listening to birds singing, and nearby office workers enjoy picnic during lunch hour.  You almost forget that you are in the very center of Tokyo. 

*The garden is closed on Mondays and Fridays (except for national holidays) .

Saturday, April 21, 2012

The Art That Survives Digitization

Yesterday I attended a seminar about the trial digitization of Hokusai Manga.  

Hokusai Manga is a series of books of prints by Katsushika Hokusai.  It was published from 1814 to even after his death.  Though it is called manga (cartoon), it is rather a collection of sketches depicting people's daily life, commodities, animals etc.   The archiving was done by a Japanese major printing firm and a system solution provider who also hosted the seminar.

Each original sketch is very small (and old) and when the digitized images were displayed on a large screen... the details were very clearly shown.  The technology of shedding new light on old artworks, which otherwise might never draw much attention of contemporary humans, will no doubt create a new market.   I was more impressed with Hokusai's detailed drawing that survived 200 years and digitization!

*The digital archive will be displayed for free on May 18, 19 and 20, 2012 at Mitsui Memorial Museum, Tokyo.       

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Sakura in Full Bloom in Tokyo

Sakura, or cherry blossoms, are still in full bloom in Tokyo.  The photo was taken in the morning of April 9, 2012 at Chidorigafuchi along the moat of the Imperial Palace.